An Unexpected Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 3: First Day

It was 8 a.m., and Ayumi was walking towards the ice rink with her skating bag in tow. The river was quiet that morning, and the proximity of her apartment to the rink made her want to walk instead of riding the car. That day, her work for the upcoming season began. She was filled with excitement and anxiety.

She wanted to come to training a couple of hours early today, to get a feel of the rink once again before getting serious. She knew it was only a matter of time before she had to spend more than eight hours there at a time. Unlike Yakov's other students, she had no luxury to laze around during the spring. Her programs needed to be finalized before heading back to Taiwan for the academic term, where her limited practice time will be spent fine-tuning her routines before the competitions begin.

As soon as she entered the rink, she was greeted by the clean, untouched ice and the soft glow of the sun penetrating the glass wall. The lack of people in the facility that early in the morning was what she loved the most about training in Saint Petersburg. She didn't have that luxury back In Taiwan, where the ice rinks were often opened to the public and thus felt crowded in most occasions.

She was not alone this time though.

"Hey Yumi!" she turned to the sidelines, and there lacing up his skates was no other than Viktor Nikiforov, Russia's living legend and four-time World Champion. He walked up to her and enclosed her in a bear hug. "How have you been? I've missed you!"

Ayumi couldn't help but laugh at her rink mate's bright mood, a rare sight to see in such early hours of the day. "I've been alright, Vitya. Tired, but what else is new?" She laughed again. "How about you?"

"I'm good," Viktor said, slowly letting go of her. "I've already come up with ideas for my programs. I'm sure Yakov's making you work on yours already, right?"

Ayumi smiled. "Yeah. Got no choice here. But hey, it's fine." She looked onto the ice rink. "You headed in now? I was kinda hoping we can catch up a bit."

Viktor smiled back. "Yeah. Let's head to a café after your practice today if you want. I'll even treat you to your usual green tea latte and we can talk about how my winter has been. What do you say?"

Ayumi chuckled. "Sure, Vitya." With that, Viktor ruffled her hair, put on his earbuds, and went out to skate.

She headed to the space near the glass wall and pulled out her exercise mat to stretch. She did her usual routine, her experience with yoga and tai chi kicking in with every move she made. This is nice, she thought. A bit of time to calm my mind and prepare for the day ahead.

A few minutes later the door opened, and a blond 14-year-old boy entered the facility. Yuri Plisetsky—the male Junior Grand Prix champion. The boy has been Ayumi's rink mate for a couple of years now and was the only one of Yakov's roster that was about the same age as she was.

Ayumi looked at him and gave him a gentle smile, like she always did. "Good morning, Yuri." The boy looked her way but did not say a word.

Yuri always appeared confident no matter what time of the day it was, but she knew better. The emptiness in his eyes that she noticed when she met him was still there. It was dull, almost looking at her in despair. She wanted to befriend him, help him break out of his shell, but for some reason he pushed her away more than he did his other rink mates.

He scoffed, turned away, and headed to the locker rooms. Ayumi sighed. Was her intention to be nice not clear enough?

Her practice time soon came, and Yakov gave her the plan for her short program. She had chosen the music for it weeks before: Symphony No. 3 in F Major by Johannes Brahms. It was a cliché song, she knew, but she has always loved the piece and has longed to skate to it for a while.

Practice was gruesome, to say the least. Learning a routine for the first time always was. The past few hours have been spent practicing the choreography step by step, including all the jumps and spins. By the time her session was over, she was absolutely exhausted.

"Your short program's turning out alright," said Viktor as soon as she stepped off the ice. "Although really? You're going for a gentle theme again? You've been doing the same thing for years, Yumi."

Ayumi looked at him and replied, "Sorry Vitya. I don't have much experience living life as you've had." She smiled. "It's ok though, right?"

Viktor looked at her. "I'm not saying that it isn't. But you must break out of that eventually, or you'll never grow as a skater. Besides, you read a lot of books anyway. I'm sure you can channel some of that into your skating."

"Maybe someday," she answered. She was never one for risks, despite being a businessman's daughter.

The two continued to talk while Yuri Plisetsky headed to the rink. It was all basic practice for now, his programs only beginning to take shape. He needed to concentrate on his free leg, which has become quite sloppy since the last Junior GPF.

Ayumi couldn't help but watch as Yuri sped around the rink, his movements mimicking a silent dance. She has always found his skating mesmerizing. No matter how arrogant he was, he always seemed like a whole different person on the ice. It made her wonder what he could be thinking, what he was feeling, as he turns and lands a clean triple Lutz at the center of the rink.

"You know," Viktor suddenly said. "I think you should try talking to him again. The tension between you two has probably simmered down by now."

The girl turned to him in disbelief. "You think I'm not trying? Every time I tried talking to him he's always blown me off. That incident just closed any chance I have of being friends with him. He hates my guts, and I should've known better."

As if she needed to be reminded of what happened that god-awful December day:

She was already getting Yuri to start talking to her when she came in and overheard an argument between him and Yakov in the rink. Yuri wanted to come home to Moscow but Yakov refused, saying he needed to focus on the upcoming Grand Prix Final: the first one he was competing in. She never heard why Yuri was desperate to return home, but the tears he shed that day proved the reason was quite serious.

As soon as Yakov left the rink, she went in and approached Yuri, asking him if he was alright and if he needed to talk about it. She was met with nothing but rage.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!?!" Yuri shouted at her. "I don't need a spoiled princess like you to comfort me! You have no idea how I feel! You're stuck in your little rich kid world where everything is bright and sunny! Who are you to try and understand my pain?!?! Get the fuck away from me!!!"

He pushed her aggressively and walked away. She fell over, and soon she found herself tearing up.

She did not know what she did wrong, but it became apparent that day how much Yuri hated her. Yuri soon finished practice, and Ayumi and Viktor decided it was time for them to head out as well. Before they could leave they were stopped by Yakov, who came in once again with a woman in a suit in tow.

"You," the lady pointed to Ayumi. "And you," she pointed to Yuri. "You two need to go on a date."

"What?!?!"